Antonela Ceabuca, age 38, of Strongsville, Ohio, was charged in a criminal information with wire fraud

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 20, 2012

Mike Tobin, Public Affairs Specialist, (216) 622-3651

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that a one-count Information was filed today charging Antonela Ceabuca, age 38, of Strongsville, Ohio, with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud her employer of approximately $261,093.21.

The information charges that between May 2010, and September 30, 2011, Antonela Ceabuca, then employed in the billing / accounts department of the Western Reserve Center for Orofacial and Cosmetic Surgery, stole insurance and other reimbursement checks that were payable to Western Reserve Center, and deposited the stolen checks into a bank account at Charter One Bank which Ceabuca had fraudulently opened in the name “Western Reserve Center.”

After depositing the stolen checks into the fraudulent account, Ceabuca withdrew funds from the fraudulent account by ATM transactions, debit card charges and by transferring funds from the fraudulent account to other Charter One Bank accounts maintained in her name and in the name of family members, according to the information.

The Information charges that in accessing Charter One Bank’s on-line, Internet banking system to check the status of the fraudulent account and to transfer funds between accounts, Ceabuca sent and caused to be sent various interstate wire communications between Ohio and Rhode Island, where the bank’s computer servers were located.

As a result of Ceabuca’s scheme, the Western Reserve Center for Orofacial and Cosmetic Surgery suffered losses in the approximate amount of $261,093.21.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern, Cybercrimes Coordinator at the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office, following an investigation by the Cleveland Office of the United States Secret Service and the Middleburg Heights Police Department.

An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.